Bernd Wiesberger moves into T18 with a 68 at the DP World Tour’s Australian Open. McIlroy scrapes through, Paul makes the cut.
At the Crown Australian Open on the DP World Tour, Bernd Wiesberger carded a solid 68 to remain in contention heading into the weekend. Rory McIlroy narrowly avoided missing the cut, while Yannik Paul bounced back with a strong round to secure his spot. Freddy Schott, however, failed to recover from a poor opening round and exited early. Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen and Daniel Rodrigues share the lead at nine under par.
Wiesberger shows grit to break into top 20
Bernd Wiesberger demonstrated resilience on Friday at Royal Melbourne Golf Course, climbing into the top 20 with a composed finish. After birdies on holes 2 and 3, he was held back by a bogey on 7 and missed birdie chances. On the back nine, he played even par through the first four holes, then birdied 14. A bogey on 16 was quickly offset by birdies on 17 and 18, placing him at T18 going into the weekend.
Yannik Paul turned things around with a 67 after a disappointing 74 on Thursday. The German made his move early, birdieing hole 3 and then rattling off three straight birdies on 7, 8, and 9. He added two more birdies on 14 and 17, but bogeys on 13 and 16 kept him from going lower. Still, his four-under round was enough to make the cut at T38.
Freddy Schott couldn’t overcome his opening 77, despite a solid 69 on Friday. Starting the day at six over par, the 24-year-old fell short of the cut line. However, a four-under back nine offered some confidence for future events.
Neergaard-Petersen and Rodrigues lead the way
Daniel Rodrigues fired the round of the day with a 64, collecting eight birdies and just one bogey on hole 6. Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen matched him at nine under thanks to an eagle on hole 14, repeating his feat from Thursday. The pair head into the weekend tied at the top.
Rory McIlroy had a tense Friday, sitting below the cut line until late in his round. After starting the day at one over, he managed just one birdie on the front nine. A bogey on the par-5 14th put him in danger, but the Northern Irishman rallied with birdies on 15, 17, and 18 to finish at two under and T28, safely through to the weekend.